The subject matter herein relates generally to header connectors of a communication system.
Communication systems use electrical connectors to transmit data and/or power in various industries. For example, in high speed backplane systems, header and receptacle connectors are provided to interconnect various components of the communication system, such as circuit boards of the communication system. The header and receptacle connectors have corresponding contacts that are mated. The receptacle and header connectors are designed for system tolerances, such as to accommodate for situations when the header and receptacle connectors are not fully mated. For example, the receptacle and header connectors may be designed to having a mating range of approximately 1.5 mm. When the receptacle connector is de-mated, such as up to the 1.5 mm de-mated position, the signal lines may suffer from signal degradation and have reduced performance. For example, air may surround the signal contacts at the mating interface when only partially mated, affecting impedance and signal integrity of the signal lines.
A need remains for electrical connectors that reduce signal degradation when the electrical connectors are not fully mated.